US GP: Leclerc gains F1 pole after Verstappen exceeds track limits

Ferrari Charles Leclerc inherited pole position after Red Bull’s three-time world champion exceeded track limits and had his pole lap taken away from him.

Q1

A number of drivers peeled out of their respective garages as they waited for the pit exit light to turn green. Once the traffic light changed, several drivers were straight out on the Austin track; the Circuit of the Americas.

Although Williams’ Logan Sargeant was the first driver out on track, the American quickly returned to the pit lane to abort his fast lap. This left the two Alpines and Alfa Romeos to set the first lap times on the board, followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris who went to the top of the timing sheets in first and second respectively.

Verstappen quickly jumped to the timing boards after the three-time world champion went to the top of the timing boards with a 1:36.470.

Track limits reared their ugly head for the first time, in qualifying, as Sargeant’s fastest lap time was deleted for exceeding the circuit. This left the American down in 20th on his second home race, in a time where he needs to showcase his worth to retain his seat for 2024.

Although Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg set the fastest time on the board at one point in Q1, the German was knocked out of qualifying alongside the two Williams and Aston Martin cars. At the other end of the spectrum, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took the fastest lap by 0.19s over Norris and Verstappen who sat in second and third respectively.

Eliminated:

20. Logan Sargeant, Williams

19. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

18. Alexander Albon, Williams

17. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin

16. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas

Q2

As the pit traffic light turned green once more, many of the 15 remaining drivers peeled straight out onto the circuit while others drove out slowly on their own time. Hamilton was one of the drivers to pull out of his garage at the start equipped with the used set of soft tyres.

After the first set of banker laps, Verstappen sat at the top of the timing boards with a 1:35.491, eight-hundredths faster than McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

A handful of drivers soon ventured back out on track to complete their last flying laps with the first of the drivers being those in the elimination zone. The rest slowly filtered out to be the last driver to cross the start time at the last opportunity.

The fight for pole looks to be a tight one between 2022 title rivals, Leclerc and Verstappen. Hamilton can join the fight if he can put together a clean and tidy lap which the seven-time world champion nearly failed to do on his final lap of Q2.

Eliminated: 

15. Daniel Ricciardo, Alpha Tauri

14. Kevin Magnussen, Haas

13. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo

12. Gunayu Zhou, Alfa Romeo

11. Yuki Tsunoda, Alpha Tauri 

Q3

It was a mix of tyres for the remaining 10 drivers as a handful of drivers with used soft tyres for Russell, Norris and both Alpines. However, the rest of the field was able to use fresh soft tyres.

The fight for pole position was on. Leclerc topped the timing boards, in provisional pole, with a stoking 1:34.829 lap as Hamilton filtered in second, between the Monegasque and Verstappen. Only a total of two-tenths of a second between Leclerc to Verstappen, with five-hundredths of a second between Leclerc and Hamilton.

Russell who was fifth in the leaderboard after his first banker lap, had his lap time deleted for track limits, as the British Mercedes driver exceeded track limits at turn 10. This demoted Russell down to 10th after his lap time was deleted by race control.

Verstappen moved up to the provisional pole but it was suspected that the Dutchman breached track limits. The suspicion was quickly confirmed as the Dutchman had his lap time deleted for track limits at turn 19. In turn, this meant Leclerc inherited pole position as Norris and Hamilton completed the top three in second and third.

Top 10: 

10. Oscar Piastri, McLaren

9. Sergio Perez, Red Bull

8. Esteban Ocon, Alpine

7. Pierre Gasly, Alpine

6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull

5. George Russell, Mercedes

4. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari

3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

2. Lando Norris, McLaren

1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

That’s all for the article: US GP: Leclerc gains F1 pole after Verstappen exceeds track limits!

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